shards of color
by She-Elf4
Summary: After leaving Kagome and her new boyfriend, Inu-Yasha gets his human blood remouved, but it's not all he thinks. Will he lose his mind? IYElfquest. You don't need to know Elfquest. Disclaimer:I own nothing.
1. Default Chapter

Inu-Yasha sat in a tree, thinking. Kagome had just met a human guy, and had almost immediately fell in love with him. And, of course, he was almost the exact opposite of Inu-Yasha. He was considerate, patient, humble, and many good things besides. But what she refused to see was that he had a heart carved from ice.  
Kagome was a lot more short-tempered around Inu-Yasha now. Of course, around the new guy, she was all smiles. She was always either showing off or acting stupid around him lately. Inu-Yasha knew she was a lot smarter than she was acting.  
"Are you sulking again, Inu-Yasha?" she screamed.  
"I'm not sulking, I'm thinking!" Inu-Yasha shouted back irritably.  
"Well, stop 'thinking' and get down here! Hokusai will be here soon!" she ordered. Inu-Yasha sighed and jumped out of the tree and onto the ground.  
  
"Ah, there you are, Inu-Yasha," Hokusai said with a smug smile on his face.  
"Yes, here I am," Inu-Yashs said through gritted teeth.  
"Now that's one of your more annoying faults: lateness. You're never there when needed," Hokusai preached. Some of the crowd nodded in agreement.  
"And YOU always turn up where you're NOT wanted," Inu-Yasha shot back.  
"Another one of your faults: nastiness. I always try to be polite." Hokusai proceeded to tell Inu-Yasha that he was VERY rude, and should work on that. And he was always so violent; he shouldn't fight all the time. And oh, yes, there was more to life than violence. And Kagome agreed with whatever he said, insisting that he shouldn't fight all the time, that he was always putting her down, and why did he do that? It only ended when Inu- Yasha stalked away in complete humiliation.  
  
"Where are you going, Inu-Yasha?" Kagome demanded when she caught up with him.  
"Is it all right if I go for a walk!?" Inu-Yasha yelled over his shoulder.  
"We weren't through!" she shouted. Inu-Yasha turned to face her.  
"If THAT'S all you have to say to me, or rather, ABOUT me, then I'd rather not hear it!" he snapped at her.  
"Only because it's all TRUE!" she yelled back.  
"Oh, yeah? And what if I told you that this dream guy of yours is a bastard?" Inu-Yasha demanded.  
"That's not true! You're just jealous!" Kagome accused.  
"It IS true!" Inu-Yasha shouted. "And if you'd open your eyes you'd SEE that!"  
"At least HE doesn't love me because I look like a dead priestess!" Kagome shouted.  
"No! He loves you because of the jewel!" Inu-Yasha yelled in answer.  
Kagome looked furious at this. "Fine! If that's what you think, GO for a walk!" she screamed. "And don't come back!" She turned on her heel and stalked away. Inu-Yasha started to when a voice stopped him.  
"Inu-Yasha?" someone asked softly, and he turned around to see Kaede. "Where are you going?" she asked.  
"Away," Inu-Yasha answered. "Away from THEM."  
"Kagome and Hokusai?" Kaede asked.  
"Yes," Inu-Yasha answered. "I've had ENOUGH of their taunts and insults, enough of fighting with Kagome, and enough of being shunted aside by her. Even more, I'm tired of her not admitting her attraction to ME. I've admitted my love for her to myself a while ago. I've tried to tell her, but she won't listen. Why can't SHE accept it?"  
"In time, I'm sure she will. In the mean time, why do you have to leave? You've changed and grown so much. If you leave, you're throwing all of that away, I think," Kaede answered.  
"Because, it might be torture to be away from her, but if I have to be lonely, I'd rather be lonely ALONE," Inu-Yasha answered.  
"How long will you be gone?" Kaede asked.  
"I don't know," Inu-Yasha replied. "I'm not even sure I'm COMING back. Fare well, Kaede. Maybe we WILL see each other again."  
  
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	2. Recognition

Inu-Yasha continued walking through the forest. After a while, he realized that he was completely lost. Of course, since he had no definite destination, this was no real setback, just an annoyance. So, with nothing ells to do, he continued to walk aimlessly till he saw a clearing ahead with sounds of fighting coming from it. He unsheathed his sword and ran into the clearing, ready to fight.  
He saw a very short, brown-haired woman in dark leather fighting Naraku. Inu-Yasha, his face contorted with loathing, charged Naraku. Naraku looked up just as Inu-Yasha slashed him across the back. An EXTREMELY large shard came out that was three inches long, one inch wide, and half and inch thick. Naraku screamed and fled without attempting to retrieve it.  
"Hey, you!" the woman called. "Thank you." She picked up the shard that looked like a blown-up shikon shard. "I'm Khavi. Who are you?" she added after she had stood up. Inu-Yasha now noticed that she had large, pointed ears and big, slanted green eyes and was about half his height. Their eyes suddenly met.  
Inu-Yasha felt himself opening like the first flower of spring; and hovering near, just waiting for the petals to part, was a green-winged butterfly ready to draw the sweet, never-tasted nectar from the blossom's untouched heart. All that he was poured out of Inu-Yasha's soul in a swift, uncontrollable stream. He felt frightened, uncomprehending; and yet, the sensation was altogether not one of loss. For something new was introducing itself into his being, something that flowed in the opposite direction to his stream, flowing through the inner passages of his spirit like the deepest of communications. It continued until there was only one source, one essence.  
For Khavi, it was like an ice storm was tearing into the huts that housed their souls, forcing them to dwell together. She knew it instantly to be Recognition, the union of two souls to give life and breath to a third. It cared nothing for the parents, only for the children that were supposed to come from it. Either the two elves accepted it, or they sickened until they died.  
"What is this!?!" Inu-Yasha demanded.  
"It's called Recognition, but it's NOT supposed to happen to Go- Backs," Khavi answered. Seeing his blank expression, she elaborated. "It means we're supposed to have kids."  
Inu-Yasha glared at Khavi. "Feh," he said, and just stalked off.  
  
When Khavi caught up with Inu-Yasha, he was walking through the forest away from the clearing. "Hey! Wolf-ear!" she called.  
"What?" he called back irritably.  
"Why don't you spend a night with the Go-Backs?" she asked.  
"No," he said stubbornly. "I know what you want."  
"No, I meant just to rest, and meet the rest of my warriors. They'd be interested in you," she persisted.  
" 'To meet my warriors.' Feh. It's just that 'recognition' junk," he answered.  
"No, it's not. It's just, your such a good warrior." She could see pride stir in his eyes, and knew this would probably work. "I was thinking, maybe you could teach us some of your moves. In return, we'll offer you food, shelter, and knowledge. So, you interested?"  
"Well," he considered.  
"We'll even tell you about the shard," she said tauntingly.  
"OK, but only for a few nights," he gave in.  
Then, with Khavi in the lead, they made their way back to Tyldack. "Hold on!" Khavi said. Then, with Khavi and Inu-Yasha hanging on, Tyldack flew back to the Go-Backs lodge. When they landed, a large shout of greeting spread. The shouts turned angry when they saw Inu-Yasha.  
"What is this?!?" One of them yelled angrily.  
"I'm Inu-Yasha, the half-youkai," Inu-Yasha answered.  
"Welcome him, warriors! It's thanks to him we have this shard!" Khavi answered. Silence fell, and Inu-Yasha looked around at the suspicious faces nervously. Khavi took out the shard and showed it to everyone. "Let's all go in, and he can tell his story by the fire over the evening meal. He'll only be here for a few nights." A sigh of relief sounded as the warriors learned that they only had to put up with the half-human for a little while.  
They all went into the Go-Back's lodge. As meat and heated bear fat were passed around, Inu-Yasha started telling his story. He told them of wandering in the woods and of the fight with Khavi against Naraku. Then, the questions started coming.  
"Who is this Naraku?" one male warrior asked.  
"He's a bunch of different demons fuses into one," Inu-Yasha answered. He described typical demons he was used to.  
"But then, where do you come from?" the warrior asked. Inu-Yasha explained his mother and, more particularly, his father.  
"Our ancestors could shapeshift, too," a little girl said. "They had very powerful magic. Maybe our ancestors were the same."  
"You see, the High Ones came from the stars," Khavi explained. "They traveled the stars in a ship made of earth from their dying world. (No, this isn't the only world.) Soon, they started looking for others of their kind in other ships. Their searches led them to a two-mooned world. They reshaped their ship into a crystal palace and themselves into people like us, except they were as tall as you were and weak from the use of magic. Unfortunately, the trolls they took with them from their own world betrayed them and they ended up 10,000 years before they meant to. The humans at that time on that world were hostile and killed them. The ones that survived were stranded, weak, and without the magic they depended on. We are one group of their descendants."  
"Now," she continued, "this shard comes from a smaller replica of the palace made from the crystal of the palace's crystal by a rock shaper. The little palace belongs to a group of desert elves in a village called Sorrow's End. We were trying to get it for various reasons, but they wouldn't give it up, so I broke a piece off of it.  
But the thing that makes the High Ones different from the rest of us is that they could shapeshift. Now form was closed to them. By the time they crashed on Two Moons, they weren't even physical beings anymore."  
Inu-Yasha was up late that night thinking about these mysterious 'High Ones'. They were obviously youkai, but of what sort, he didn't know. And what did he have to do with them? It sounded as if they were just general youkai, and didn't have specific traits like most youkai. The really specific trait they had was shapechanging into anything, like Naraku.  
The next day, after a quick breakfast, Inu-Yasha went to learn to wield a spear from the Go-Backs; an interesting process, to be sure. "No, idiot, you hold the spear like this." The warrior demonstrated. "In the MIDDLE. NOT the end."  
"It's just a glorified stick," Inu-Yasha answered grumpily.  
"This 'glorified stick' is better for hunting than that ridiculous sword of yours," the warrior shot back. "Now, you raise it up so it's level with your head. No, horizontally, not vertically! Now, throw it like this." He guided Inu-Yasha's arm back and then forward. The spear didn't exactly go where aimed.  
"Sorry, I'll repair that hole in your wall," Inu-Yasha said. By the end of the day, Inu-Yasha had a flawless aim.  
The next day they went hunting. They left at dawn and returned at dusk. Since it was his first time, the warriors let Inu-Yasha bring the game down. The day after, Inu-Yasha taught the Go-Backs proper swordwork. Another tasks that proved interesting.  
"You DON'T just wildly swing! It will get you killed!" Inu-Yasha exclaimed.  
"It worked in the troll war," One female warrior answered. In the end, a few learned it pretty well, and the rest left, led by the female warrior.  
That night, Inu-Yasha and Khavi had another fight over Recognition: an argument they'd had every night since Inu-Yasha came. "I know you are feeling the same things as me! Every elf does!" Khavi shouted.  
"I'm not an elf!" Inu-Yasha shot back. Khavi glared at him. "Besides," he continued, "I love someone ells! I never HAVE loved YOU, no matter what you think!"  
"I'm not talking about that! I saw you today! You nearly fell over while teaching swordwork! You're getting sick from your refusal! And so am I!" Khavi screamed in response.  
"How do you know that it's from that? How do you know it's not something ells?" Inu-Yasha demanded.  
"Because I don't know about youkai, but elves don't get sick except for refused recognition! AND, if they refuse it too long, they DIE from it!" Khavi answered loudly. Inu-Yashan just stalked off. It was just too ridiculous to believe. And what about Kagome?  
Inu-Yasha walked to the top of some cliffs and was just looking out when Tyldak found him. "Come on," he urged. "Just for one night. You know we speak the truth about Recognition."  
"But what about Kagome? Even though she loves someone ells, I still love her," Inu-Yasha answered.  
"No one need know. I'll say I'm the child's father. Please, for both your sakes, just one night." In the end, Inu-Yasha had to agree. He went back with Tyldak. Even though Kagome was in love with someone ells, Inu- Yasha still felt guilty lying with Khavi that night. 


	3. Winnowill

Author's Note: this chapter is dedicated to __________, who was my last reviewer. It's because of him that I'm so happy that I'm writing this chapter, since I'm on both his author alerts list and favorite stories list. Thanks! And I'm sorry for neglecting this story. ************************************************************************  
The next morning, Inu-Yasha flew away with Tyldak again. They flew back to the clearing in which they first met. "You are welcome to come back, Inu-Yasha, if you so wish," Tyldak said.  
"I may come back someday, so I can see my child. Untill then, goodby," Inu-Yasha replied. As Tyldak took off again, he started walking out of the clearing on a small path. Unsure of where he was heading, he aimlessly followed the path. Little did he know that if he had followed any other path, the rest of this story wouldn't have happened.  
  
Elswhere in the forest, Kikyo stood in the midst of her demons. Once again, it was time to send them out to steal the souls of dead women to reside in her body. They flew off in serch of souls. They would come back with the souls she needed to be able to use her body. Many souls had departed of late, and she hoped to gain many more before she next fought Inu-Yasha. She then lay down and closed her eyes in the setting sun to wait.  
She didn't see the demons slowely turn and all go in one direction. She didn't sense the darkness they did. The darkness beconed to them, irresistably drawing them. A soul screamed for the release they could give. 'Let me out of this body. Let me be free!' the strange soul cried. The sense of desperateness lit the way for the demons.  
The demons sped east through the forest. Just as they were about to leave the forest, they saw a disc of white light about as tall as a man. The soul was crying from the other side of that disk. Without hesitating, they sped through the disk. They ended up speeding out of a different forest altogether. They, however, didn't care. They continued speeding towards the soul calling them.  
When they finally found it, they saw a strange yokai about half the size of a man with black hair and brown skin. The demons could tell he was trying to hold the other soul inside of himself. The other soul, however, was trying with all it's might to get out. Knowing what to do, the demons gathered around the yokai. They each grabbed a part of the other soul reaching out to them. Then, with all of their strength, they pulled the soul out of the yokai's body. The job done, they headed back to their own world. It was a dark and malovent soul, but they didn't care. It was a soul, and that's what their lady Kikyo demanded.  
When they got back, Kikyo was shocked that they had only one soul, and that they all held on to it. When they handed it to her, she noticed that it was dark and malovent. So much so that she had trouble hanging on to it. She didn't pay any mind to it, however. She was sure she could controll it.  
She drew the soul into her body, along with all the other souls there. After a moment, she knew she was wrong to think she could controll it. She fell to her knees, feeling sick, as the soul started thrashing within her. An enormouse sick feeling rose in the pit of her stomach, and she dry-heaved. Not long after, all of the other souls were forced from her body by the dark one. Then, she heard a voice in her thoughts.  
**Who are you?** a voice asked.  
**I am Kikyo. Who are YOU?** Kikyo answered.  
**I am Winnowill. Why have brought me here, into yourself?** Winnowill said.  
**Because this pathetic body made of dirt and bone doesn't function well unless nourished with souls,** Kikyo answered.  
**Hah! This body has enough flesh that once I bind MYSELF to it, the dirt can be clensed out. How was the dirt turned into flesh in the first place?** Winnowill said.  
**I don't know. But you can clean it out? You can rid me of the dirt?** Kikyo asked hopefully.  
**Yes, I can. I can even help you in your quest,** Winnowill answered.  
**What must I give you in return?** Kikyo asked.  
**Just let me have this body when you're done. That way, I won't be Rayek's prisoner anymore,** Winnowill answered.  
**I will do that. After I'm done, this body will be empty of me. But, what ARE you? Or, were you?" Kikyo asked.  
**I am an elf woman. After I died, Rayek took me prisoner.** With that, Winnowill united herself with Kikyo's flesh. What Kikyo didn't know was that she would dissapear when another soul was bound to her body. When Winnowill was done, Kikyo was no more.  
  
Elswhere, after a fruitless chase after the demons, Rayek found the Go-Backs. "Have you seen strange flying creatures with long tails and finlike wings carrying a dark soul off somewhere?" he asked.  
"What are you talking about, black-hair?" Khavi asked.  
"Strange magical creatures tore Winnowill from my body. She is loose in this world somewhere. I have to find her," Rayek answered. Khavi stared in shock. If Winnowill was loose, she would descend upoun this world like a plague.  
"You should go to the Palace of the High Ones for help. That's where Venka is. Maby you can subdue her together," Khavi answered. Rayek knew she was right. Maby Venka, their daughter, could help Rayek catch Winnowill. If they didn't, this world was done for. 


End file.
